Month: July 2024

If you ever want to spark a debate, post a ranked list about anything. But especially if that opinion piece as anything to do with rapper stars, just ask Eminem, Fat Joe, or Usher.

The producers of Celebrity Family Feud learned this the hard way. During a recent episode of the beloved game show, starring Tori Kelly, Meghan Trainor, and Daryl Sabara, the families and even host Steve Harvey were rattled by the survey results. When asked who was the greatest rapper of all time, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Lil Wayne all struck out as confirmed answers.

Eventually, a contestant scored with a guess of the late Tupac. But, subsequent responses of Nas and Drake earned players strikes. When the full list was revealed, which included Snoop Dogg (at No. 1), Tupac, Eminem, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, and Jay-Z.

Users across X (formerly Twitter) voiced their issues with the results.

“We literally asked 100 Vermont residents to answer this,” wrote one user.

“We know who was polled for this question by the answers ,” penned another.

“That’s hip-hop. But, they didn’t ask hip-hop people,” remarked one user.

“Snoop Dogg number 1 and Jay-Z last? Who answered this question? Some bums in the street,” chimed another.

“Family Feud needs to be investigated,” joked another.

The truth of the matter is you can’t impress everyone. Despite her global appeal, Taylor Swift isn’t exempt to this. Celebrities and even royals flock to see witness the “Fortnight” singer live in concert. But don’t expect to see Sonic Youth’s former guitarist Kim Gordon there.

During an interview with The Guardian, Gordon made that abundantly clear. When asked what was her “most controversial pop culture opinion” was, she dived into Swift.

“I don’t know if it’s controversial,” she said. “But, I’m not really a fan of Taylor Swift.”

This isn’t the first time an artist expressed a lack of interest in Swift. Back in April, Courtney Love referred to Swift as not “important” or “interesting as an artist.” However, Gordon’s next confession is where the Swifties are stuck.

“I couldn’t tell you what her music sounded like, actually,” she said.

To proclaim that you aren’t a fan, but can’t recall what her music sounds like, is rather bold. Following her statement, Gordon did seemingly offer an alternative singer for fans to rally behind.

“When it comes to pop icons,” she said. “I would choose Billie Eilish.”

Taylor Swift didn’t respond to Courtney Love’s remarks. So, she likely won’t address Gordon’s either.

Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your

10. Star Wars: The Acolyte (Disney+ series)

The Star Wars realm is kicking again after the season finale in a series that shakes up the universe with a procedural spin amid a crime spree that brings a dangerous warrior back from a Jedi Master’s past. Amandla Stenberg stars, along with (according to fans) the “hottest man alive” Manny Jacinto. Not every Star Wars fan has embraced the change that came with this series, but even more viewers have praised the departure from formula. This series co-stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Charlie Barnett, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, and Margarita Levieva.

9. Sausage Party: Foodtopia (Prime Video/Amazon series)

Seth Rogen is simply having a field day in this spin off that follows up on the absurdly popular 2016 R-rated animated movie full of filthy jokes that revolve around, well, a sausage named Frank. The lead character is now rallying a community full of fellow profane grocery items, and new actors including Sam Richardson and Will Forte have joined this sausage universe. Returning voices include Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Michael Cera, and David Krumholtz.

8. Lady In The Lake (Apple TV+ series)

Adaptations of best-selling books are having a bit of a streaming moment, and Apple TV+ has been seizing that opportunity with multiple series on this list. Here, Natalie Portman makes her TV debut to star alongside Moses Ingram in this modern noir story from Laura Lippmann’s same-named book about privileged 1960s housewife, Maddie, who flees her marriage and launches a new career as an investigative journalist who digs into the murder of Cleo Johnson. Look for a more surreal adaptation as opposed to the book’s narrative-hopping, just-the-facts perspectives with Apple TV+ billing the limited series “as a feverish noir thriller and an unexpected tale of the price women pay for their dreams.” Ouch.

7. The Bear (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Seemingly a zillion Emmy nominations poured out this week for the second season of this show, and this third season seemingly set out to make viewers hate Carmy, and mission accomplished? However, that conversation with Joel McHale’s Mean Chef might provide some closure for Jeremy Allen White’s character to start leaving his trauma behind. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Momma Berzatto was undoubtedly a source of that toxicity, too, and she received some redemption in “Ice Chips,” so here’s to Carmy cleaning up his emotional act without berating his fellow Chefs with so many non-negotiables in the process.

6. Sunny (Apple TV+ series)

Apple TV+ is quietly crushing the dramatic sci-fi realm, and Rashida Jones leads this project as an American ex-pat, Suzie, who finds herself alone in Japan when her family goes missing. As a result, a domestic robot enters her life, and this “relationship” begins to work out better than anticipated. Perhaps they will even solve a mystery together. Expect this season to keep you guessing the answers to that question, and you might want to also check out Rashida’s appearance in another Apple+ series, Silo because that Rebecca Ferguson-starring series will return in 2025 and is well worth binging.

5. Supacell (Netflix series)

Traditional superhero movies and TV shows are out of vogue for the moment, but clearly, audiences do retain an insatiable appetite for inventive stories about those who happen to have extraordinary powers. Such is the case with the South Londoner characters of Supacell, which follows ordinary-but-superpowered people while highlighting sickle cell disease and the social issues tied to its suffering. Rapman (whose real name happens to be Andrew Onwubolu) created the show, and fans await word of a second season.

4. Cobra Kai (Netflix series)

What Cobra Kai has pulled off is spectacular, and this final, super-sized season continues to crush the generation gap while keeping things real for the underdogs. This spin off has also accomplished what few TV shows or movies could have ever hoped for: successfully rebooting a 1980s property while appealing to Gen Z and the original The Karate Kid audience. This season, fans of Chozen and Tory will be happy to see deeper dives into their psyches, and Daniel and Johnny are still occasionally at each other’s throats while now training their joint dojo members to travel to the Sekai Taikai world championship and dominate outside of the Valley.

3. House of the Dragon (HBO series streaming on Max)

We are past the halfway point with mommy issues flying and the audience wondering how much more variants on the Targaryen-incest theme that they can stomach. From here, Aemond appears to be in charge of Team Green, but Team Black will soon ready its dragonseeds, and if they match up to the book before — and Game of Thrones prepared us for this — nearly every dragon faces death in Westeros.

2. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+ series)

Jake Gyllenhaal is the new king of appearing in “one-off” or “limited” projects that suddenly receive a sequel due to their unrelenting watchability. So far, we don’t know if he will star in the recently announced second season of this series, but he will definitely be in the mix as an executive producer. Additionally, David E. Kelley will be back in the same role with his brand of addictive television, and there will be a lot more Gyllenhaal onscreen soon (more Roadhouse and sister Maggie’s The Bride!) no matter whether his prosecutor character, Rusty, ends up being convinced of murder or not.

1. The Boys (Prime Video/Amazon series)

The fourth season finale left conflicted power rankings in its wake, but most fans agreed that Kimiko deserves the world and not what she received in the final scenes of the episode. From here, the audience will be left to wonder whether Soldier Boy will truly make a comeback and what Sister Sage will cook up next. The second season of Gen V will also be onscreen next year, so plenty of Compound V-fueled shenanigans will materialize before you know it.

Even though I don’t wear very much makeup, every few days or so SOMEONE…

(friends, family, internet strangers)

…will weigh in on why I “don’t need makeup.”

Now, I realize this is meant as a compliment, but this comic offers a hilariously truthful (and slightly weird) explanation of the “too much makeup” conundrum.

Not everyone is able to turn into a badass lizard when someone asks about their face-painting hobbies. Don’t you kinda wish you could? Just to drive this hilarious comic all the way home, here are four reasons why some women* wear makeup:

*Important side note: Anyone can wear makeup. Not just women. True story.

Four reasons some women* wear makeup:

1. Her cat-eye game is on point.

2. She has acne or acne scars.

3. Pink lipstick.

4. She likes wearing makeup.

While some people may think putting on makeup is a chore, it can be really fun! For some, makeup is an outlet for creativity and self-expression. For others, it’s just a way to feel good about themselves and/or enhance their favorite features.

That’s why it feels kinda icky when someone says something along the lines of “You don’t need so much makeup!” Now, it’s arguable that no one “needs” makeup, but everyone deserves to feel good about the way they look.

For some people, feeling good about their appearance includes wearing makeup. And that’s totally OK.

This article originally appeared on 05.28.15

Server Flavaine Carvalho was waiting on her last table of the night at Mrs. Potatohead’s, a family restaurant in Orlando, Florida when she noticed something peculiar.

The parents of an 11-year-old boy were ordering food but told her that the child would be having his dinner later that night at home. She glanced at the boy who was wearing a hoodie, glasses, and a face mask and noticed a scratch between his eyes.

A closer look revealed a bruise on his temple.

So Carvalho walked away from the table and wrote a note that said, “Do you need help?” and showed it to the boy from an angle where his parents couldn’t see.

The boy shook his head, no. “I knew it that he was afraid,” she said.

Carvalho made two more attempts until the boy nodded yes.

The server then called the owner of the restaurant to let her know that she was going to call the police on the boy’s parents.

“SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING: An Orlando waitress saw a family withholding food from a boy at a table. She noticed bruises on his body and created this sign to secretly ask the child if he needed help. When he signaled “Yes” she called us. The stepfather & mother were arrested.”

u201cSEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING: An Orlando waitress saw a family withholding food from a boy at a table. She noticed bruises on his body and created this sign to secretly ask the child if he needed help. When he signaled “Yes” she called us. The stepfather & mother were arrested.u201d

— Orlando Police (@Orlando Police)
1610638528

The police arrived and arrested the boy’s father

on one count of third-degree child abuse. His mother Kristen Swann was arrested with two counts of child neglect. A four-year-old girl was taken from the family by authorities. They say she showed no signs of abuse.

Detectives spoke with the boy and learned his parents frequently withheld food from him as a form of punishment. He was 20 pounds underweight. After searching his body, they discovered that he was nearly covered in bruises.

His father had recently beat him with a broomstick and back scratcher.

The boy told detectives that he was once hung upside down from his ankles in a door frame by his father and had been restrained by being strapped to a furniture dolly.

“To be honest what this child had gone through was torture,” Detective Erin Lawler said. “There was no justification for it in any realm of the world. I’m a mother and seeing what that 11-year-old had to go through, it shocks your soul.”

u201cChief Orlando Rolon, @OrlandoPolice, with waitress Flavaine Carvalho (middle) who saved an abused 11yo when he was dining with his family. They say the boy was u201ctortured.u201d The full details of his salvation on @fox35orlando at 5/6pm. #FOX35 #news #crime #updateu201d

— Matt Trezza FOX 35 (@Matt Trezza FOX 35)
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Carvalho’s quick thinking and bravery may have saved the lives of two children.

“This could have been a homicide situation if she had not have intervened,” Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said.

“The lesson here for all of us is to recognize when we see something that isn’t right to act on it… This saved the life of a child,” he added.

The restaurant’s owner, Rafaela Cabede, hopes that Carvalho’s bravery inspires others to look out for signs of abuse as well.

“We understand that this has to encourage other people that when you see something, say something,” Cabede said. “We know when we see a situation that is wrong, we know what’s the right thing to do. We know that speaking up is the right thing to do. But it takes more than acknowledging it. It takes courage.

This article originally appeared on 01.15.21

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

They also realized that the carefree days of youth are fleeting and impossible to get back. So they should have spent less time working and more time enjoying themselves. Many also lamented that they should have taken their education more seriously in their 20s so they have more opportunities now.

The responses to this thread are bittersweet. It’s tough hearing people come to grips with their regrets but the realizations are also opportunities to grow. Hopefully, some younger people will read this thread and take the advice to heart.

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses to the question: “Millennials of Reddit now nearing your 40s, what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?”

1.

“Not taking care of my hearing, not even 35 and going deaf.” — Kusanagi8811

2.

“Not getting healthy earlier.” — zombiearchivist

3.

“Staying too long at a job in my 20s, just because it was safe and easy. When I finally got the motivation to leave, ended up with an almost 50% pay boost.” — Hrekires

4. 

“Thinking that I could and should put myself on the back burner for anything and anyone else.” — lenalilly227

5.

“Smoking and not dealing with my shit the right way.” — Allenrw3

6.

“Pining after the wrong person.” — runikepisteme

7.

“I turned 40 this year and just started liking who I am. Why the fuck did it take 40 years for self acceptance?” — guscallee

8.

“Take care of your fucking back. Lift with your knees. Sure it’s rad when you grab a fridge by yourself and lift it in the back of a moving truck unaided, but one day that shit is going to have consequences that won’t just magically go away by resting and “taking it easy” for a week.” — GuyTallman

9.

“I wish I spent more time with my dad while I had the chance.” — CharlieChooper

10.

“I’m 37. I absolutely could have taken better care of my body, but I’m in relatively good health. I’m starting to realize how important it is to maintain my health. I do also think I drank far too much in my 20 and early 30’s. I’m trying to rectify that now, but it’s hard. So that I guess.” — dartastic

11.

“I’m not sure if people have experienced the same but when I entered my 30s I became convinced I was rapidly running out of time. Rather than using that as motivation I let it paralyze me with indecision because I “couldn’t afford to make the wrong choice.” Consequently, I’m now 39 and, though I’ve had great things happen in my 30s, I regret spending so much time worrying and so little time committing to a course of action.” — tomwaste

12.

“Work to live, don’t live to work. You have half your working life after you turn 40 but only 20-25 years to really live it up before the responsibilities become heavy and your joints start to ache. Live life. Really LIVE it. Experience as much you can. Every sensation, sight, sound, touch. Be open. Be brave. Live your first few decades in the fast lane. You have the rest of your life to take it easy, when you have no choice.” — MrDundee666

13.

“I should have paid more attention to my parents telling me to save money and less attention when they were teaching me about purity culture.” — Arkie_MTB

14.

“If I could tell my 18 year old self one thing, it would be to save 10% of every paycheck I ever got.” — PutAForkInHim

15.

“Thinking that I have time to do everything I want only to find myself loosing time, and the endless energy I used to have in order to purse them.” — ezZiioFTW

16.

“Not wearing sunscreen.” — blueboxreddress

17.

“Not recognizing the importance of work/life balance earlier in life. My late teens, all 20’s, and early 30’s were spent pulling 60-100+hr weeks because I thought it was what was required to succeed. How wrong I was. Others stabbed me in the back and reaped the reward.

1.) Putting work first for too long. Work is my #1 priority during work hours now. After quitting time, I don’t think about it (much) anymore. I don’t vent to my wife or friends about it anymore either.

2.) Investing more into fast cars than solid long-term investments. Sure, it was fun, but I could have made bookoos more had I put that towards less-fun investments.

3.) Not using PTO and just waiting for the payout. All those years, missed. I’m in my mid 30’s and I didn’t actually have a real vacation until 3 years ago.

4.) Not realizing that “the good guy” often loses. Just because you’re morally justified doesn’t mean you’re going to win. Just because there’s a number to call doesn’t mean anyone will actually help you. Just because “law” exists, doesn’t mean people follow it, enforce it, or create justice. The world is dog eat dog and cynicism can be healthy in moderate doses.” — [Deleted]

18.

“When you get out of college, keep your friends. No matter how hard it is. Hold on to them.” — mpssss22

19.

“I imagine these are kinda universal:

• Not getting fit and healthy
• Assuming I’d be offered proper guidance on how to achieve my goals
• Assuming higher education would help me achieve my goals
• Spending far too long caring what people think
• Not taking risks that might better my life when I was younger and had nothing to lose
• Staying in relationships too long after they were clearly done.” — katapultperson

20.

“Always ask for more pay. Starting, yearly, before leaving, whatever. Get that money.” — SensibleReply

21.

“Spending too much time in front of a screen and not enough enjoying life.” — BellaPadella

This article originally appeared on 4.20.22

It hasn’t even been a year since the beloved series “Ted Lasso,” which told the story of a kind hearted, folksy football coach and his team of believers, came to its final episode.

And yet, since the series ended, fans have yearned to have any type of chance to see some of their favorite characters come together again—which is what makes a surprise rock-n-roll duet between Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso himself, and Hannah Waddigham, who played boss and bestie Rebecca Welton.

A video quickly making the rounds online starts with Sudeikis sharing the stage with fellow “Saturday Night Live” star Will Forte, telling him “there’s nobody I would rather be singing this song with. ”

Then the recognizable guitar intro to “Shallow,” originally sung by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga for the 2018 film “A Star is Born,” begins to play. Cue crowd applause.

Sudeikis, singing Cooper’s part, completely delivers the perfect blend of twang and rock needed for the tune—but then has one more trick up his sleeve. For just as Forte opens up his mouth to sing in place of Lady Gaga, a woman’s voice is heard instead.

Not just any woman, in fact. But ‘Ted Lasso’ costar and Broadway legend Hannah Waddingham.

Waddingham playfully shoos Forte away to take her rightful place on stage, where both she and Sudeikis finish out the iconic song.

Needless to say, viewers were beside themselves. Especially “Ted Lasso” fans.

“I can never ever properly put into words how much this video (of two of my LITERAL favorite human beings from my VERY favorite show) brings me the most joy I may have ever felt. Thank you times infinity for this!!!!!!” one person wrote on Youtube.

Another added, “This is perfect in all levels! 💜💜💜”

Perhaps the only thing better than seeing these two widely loved actors singing together, is the reason behind their surprise duet. Sudeikis was hosting for THUNDERGONG!, a benefit concert held by Steps of Faith, which helps amputees gain access to prosthetic limbs.

Brendan Hunt, aka “Coach Beard,” also made a guest appearance, making it a wholesome “Ted Lasso” reunion for a great cause.Watch. And enjoy Waddingham’s out-of-this-world belting ability:

If you’d like to make a donation, text STEPS to 44321 or visit https://stepsoffaith.kindful.com.

This article originally appeared on 11.13.23

Arjun Mahadevan gave the world a gift when he crowdsourced the best “life pro tips” from nearly 22 million people. He shared the top 20 in a Twitter thread that’s got over 619,000 views. Mahadevan sourced the tips from the Life Pro Tips subforum on Reddit, which has been running since 2010.

Mahadevan is the CEO of doolaHQ which he calls the “business-in-a-box” for LLCs.

Mahadevan labeled his advice “20 life tips you wish you knew when you were 20,” but they are helpful for everyone regardless of age. They’re useful for anyone who is in a relationship, has a job or wants to stay sane in an aggravating world.

Many ideas involve reframing how we judge others to see them with more compassion. Mahadevan also has some advice for professionals to prevent them from making embarrassing mistakes or wasting other people’s time.

Sometimes the simplest change in behavior or perspective can drastically affect our lives. Here are Arjun Mahadevan’s 20 life tips you wish you knew when you were 20:

u201cMost life hacks suck. n nSo I crowdsourced the best from 21.9 million people on Reddit.nnHere are 20 life tips you wish you knew when you were 20:u201d

— Arjun Mahadevan (Mr. LLC ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8) (@Arjun Mahadevan (Mr. LLC ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8))
1680094330

1. “If you’re stuck on an annoying call, put your phone on airplane mode instead of just hanging up. The other person will see ‘call failed’ instead of ‘call ended.'”

2. “When you sign up for anything online, put the website’s name as your middle name. That way when you receive spam/advert emails, you will know who sold your info.”

3. “Always tell a child who is wearing a helmet how cool you think their helmet is. It will encourage them to always wear it in the future.”

4. “When you don’t have all the facts, try to give people the most generous reason you can for their behavior. Annoyingly slow driver? Maybe it’s a mom with a birthday cake in the back. This mindset will gradually make you less reactive and more compassionate.”

5. “Do not try to be the man your father would want you to be. Be the man you would like your son to be. It more clearly defines your own convictions, desires, goals and motivates you to be your best.”

6. “When a friend is upset, ask them one simple question before saying anything else: ‘Do you want to talk about it or do you want to be distracted from it?'”

7. “After a bad breakup, do 10 things that your ex would never do with you. You’ll feel better and realize how much of yourself was being held back.”

8. “Before you give your child a unique name, try it out first. Use it on food orders, reservations, appointments where applicable, etc. It’ll give you a glimpse of what they’ll deal with when they’re older and could prevent future issues.”

9. “If you need to cancel a hotel reservation but are unable to because of a 24-hour policy, call the company and move your reservation to a later date. Call back within a few days and cancel for no charge.”

10. “If you tell someone you need to talk to them, for the love of God give some indication of what you need to talk about, or at least that it’s not bad news.”

11. “Never send a work email when you’re emotionally compromised. Type it up, save it as a draft, and walk away. Ideally, sleep on it. You’ll make a smarter choice when you’re not heated.”

12. “Don’t just let kids win at games. You can slow it down, you can teach them strategy, but keep it real. Someday, they will beat you fair and square, and it will be a moment they always remember with pride.”

13. “When cooking things on aluminum foil, first scrunch the foil up, then lay it loosely flat again out on your baking tray. The juices will stay put—and the food will not stick to the foil half as much, if at all.”

14. “If you think of a good idea, write it down. Your brain will try to trick you into thinking you will remember it later, but it’s a liar! Therefore: Write it down!”

15. “It takes 4 minutes a day and almost no cost to maintain dental hygiene. It takes a lifetime and a lot of money to correct it. 2-minute brush and mouthwash in the AM, 2-minute brush and floss in the PM.”

16. “Don’t wait until you have ‘time’ to start a fitness program. Because then when you get busy again, you’ll stop. The best time to start is actually when you’re busy. Learning how to fit it in when time’s are tough means you’ll stick with it over the long haul.”

17. “When using text messages or IMs for business, say everything you need to say in the first message. Don’t just say ‘hi’ or ‘hey’ or ‘are you there’ or ‘are you busy.'”

18. “Instead of feeling that you’ve blown the day and thinking, ‘I’ll get back on track tomorrow, think of each day as a set of four quarters:

• Morning• Midday• Afternoon• Evening

If you blow one quarter, you get back on track for the next quarter.”

19. “Many problems in marriage are really just problems with being a bad roommate. Learn how to be a good roommate, and it will solve many of the main issues that plague marriages. This includes communicating about something bothering you before you get too angry.”

20. “Ask yourself ‘what does it matter to me’ the next time you find yourself judging someone for their clothing or hobbies. The more you train yourself to not care about the personal preferences of other people, the more relaxed and nicer you become as a person.”

This article originally on appeared 3.31.23

The concept of the fourth dimension seems beyond human comprehension. As three-dimensional beings, we are unable to see beyond a physical object’s height, width and depth. What else could there be?

Enter Carl Sagan, revered as one of the greatest science communicators of his time. He possessed a unique gift for demystifying complex scientific concepts, making them accessible and thrilling for the general public. In 1980, on Episode 10 of the groundbreaking PBS show “Cosmos,” Sagan embarked on a mission to explain the seemingly impossible fourth dimension.

What’s excellent about Sagan’s explanation is that he uses simple and relatable objects: an apple and a Tesseract, or a hypercube.

Sagan began by discussing how a two-dimensional being living in a flat world would perceive a three-dimensional object like an apple.

“Imagine we live in this ‘flatland’/2-D plane with no concept of ‘up’ or ‘down.’ Then along comes a 3-D object like an apple. We do not even notice it until it crosses our plane of existence — and even then, we have no idea what the apple is,” Sagan explains. “We see only a fragment as it passes through our plane. There is no way we can comprehend the 3-D quality/dimension of the apple, because it is more than we can understand. We only have the evidence of what has passed through our plane.”

Sagan then related this two-dimensional experience of the third dimension to how we might try to understand the fourth. To do so, he used the Tesseract, a four-dimensional cube, to demonstrate how difficult it is for us to perceive or visualize dimensions beyond our own three. At this point, Sagan is asking the viewer to expand their minds to understand the fourth dimension metaphorically.

Sagan’s demonstration of the fourth dimension isn’t just a wonderful explanation of a scientific idea that many of us find difficult to comprehend; it’s also a great example of how to teach complex ideas by combining clear explanations with thought-provoking visuals.

This article originally appeared on 5.2.24

Every four years, the WNBA All-Star break also serves as a first tune-up for the USA Basketball women’s squad prior to the Olympics, as the league plays Team WNBA vs. Team USA in a rather incredible matchup that brings some added juice to what is typically an exhibition atmosphere. Many of the players on Team WNBA feel they belong on the Olympic squad, and the All-Star game provides an opportunity to prove a point, even if only for a night.

Entering the game, much of the spotlight was on the star rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who would go from budding rivals to teammates, with both getting on the board in the first half and connected on a much-awaited bucket in the fourth.

Clark finished with just four points, but dished out 10 asssits, while Reese continued her double-double streak with 11 points and 11 rebounds. However, for all the talk about the youngsters this season, it was the vets that put on the show. Breanna Stewart led Team USA with 31 points and 10 rebounds, as she and A’ja Wilson (22 points) led the way for the Olympic-bound squad.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the first half, with Team USA taking a two-point advantage into the halftime break, where the Phoenix crowd was treated to a performance by Pitbull. Inspired by Mr. Worldwide, Arike Ogunbowale came out in the third quarter like a Fireball, hitting 5-of-7 from three-point range and pushing Team WNBA in front by nine going to the fourth quarter.

Her heater continued in the fourth quarter, as she buried tough shot after tough shot no matter how many defenders the US squad sent at her.

After going scoreless in the first half, Ogunbowale lit up Team USA in the second half, going 8-for-12 from deep en route to 34 points and six assists, earning the game’s MVP honors and breaking Jewell Loyd’s All-Star scoring record that lasted all of one year. She was aided by Nneka Ogwumike, who got hot in the first half and finished with 14 points, while Allisha Gray (16 points) and Kelsey Mitchell (13 points) had big nights off the bench. For Team USA, they got 14 points from Diana Taurasi, but otherwise had backcourt struggles and will need to figure out how to get more floor balance alongside their dominant bigs as they get ready to go to Paris — with the understanding Team WNBA is the best team they’ll face this summer.

While much of the snub talk this year was about Clark, Ogunbowale and Ogwumike have their own histories with USA Basketball and feeling left out from the proceedings. It’s not often you can get that kind of juice for an All-Star game, but the added motivation of facing a team that you feel like you belong on provides that, and the 2024 edition was a tremendous example of what All-Star Games can be when everyone is locked in.